Roberson didn't always display those qualities during her first two months as a Lady Raider, but she's returning to form as the team enters the stretch run of its season.

The 5-foot-11 sophomore from San Antonio has been a catalyst as of late, whether it's diving for a loose ball, blocking a shot, grabbing a critical rebound or knocking down a clutch basket. Roberson has posted at least eight points and eight rebounds in each of Tech's last three games, despite averaging only 22 minutes in those contests.

"She's had to really grow up pretty fast, and she's matured right before our eyes the past two months," said Curry, who plucked Roberson from nearby South Plains College. "It's been amazing to watch.

"Here lately, she's been consistent with her effort mentally and physically. Her motor's always running, and that's been a real positive for our team."

Earlier this week, Roberson said she's still adjusting to Division I competition. But she's looked awfully comfortable since returning from winter break.

Roberson played 17 minutes off the bench against SMU and had 11 points and eight rebounds in the 75-70 victory on Dec. 29. She then made her only start of the season against Arkansas on Saturday, playing a season-high 25 minutes and scoring eight points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds. Roberson narrowly missed her first career double-double in Wednesday's Big 12 Conference opener against Baylor, recording 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench in the 72-67 loss.

"She's improved a whole lot," said Tech junior Dominic Seals, who also played with Roberson at South Plains College. "She's smarter and quicker and plays harder. She hustles and rebounds, everything. That's exactly what we need."

Roberson's best attribute might be her versatility. She has enough size and strength to excel in the post, and she also has the ball-handling and shooting ability of a small forward or guard.

Roberson sank arguably the biggest shot of the season - her 3-pointer on Dec. 13 sparked the Lady Raiders to an upset win over then-No. 18 Arizona State - and she's emerged as a defensive stalwart as well.

"She's just not playing as timid anymore," senior center Erin Myrick said. "She's starting to understand things, and she's playing the way she knows she can play to help the team."

Baby steps for Brown

Sophomore Maddy Brown, who missed the first 13 games of the season while recovering from a broken left foot, played sparingly in each of the last two games.

The 5-10 shooting guard played 14 minutes in Saturday's loss at Arkansas, going 0 of 2 from the field while grabbing two rebounds and blocking a shot. She then played five first-half minutes during Wednesday's loss against Baylor, registering one rebound, one turnover and missing her only shot - a 3-point attempt from the right elbow.

Curry said she'll continue to ease Brown into the rotation, and that it will take time for her to readjust to game speed and return to her preseason form.

Upsets or sneak preview?

The round of Big 12 openers Wednesday night featured a pair of surprising upsets, and the conference's two highest-ranked teams nearly stumbled as well.

Kansas State traveled to College Station and stunned No. 12 Texas A&M, 67-54, while Nebraska knocked off No. 15 Texas, 56-45, in Lincoln, Neb. Sixth-ranked Oklahoma had a tough time at Iowa State before escaping with a 67-64 win, and No. 8 Baylor got a handful from the Lady Raiders before pulling out a five-point victory in Lubbock.

Curry said it "would have been nice" to join the upset parade, and that Wednesday's results were "very intriguing." But Tech's second-year coach wasn't exactly surprised.

"It just shows the quality and the depth of the league, and I think you're going to see that night in and night out," she said. "I think there's a tremendous amount of parity. It's no longer going to be a two-team league or a three-team league. You're going to have six, seven, eight teams, and that's just the way the game's going. There are better players, and there are more of them."

After starting the season as Maria Moore's backup at point guard, sophomore Raquel Christian is now being used mostly as a reserve shooting guard. In turn, junior Tiny Henderson, an Estacado product, has slid into the backup point guard role.

"Her strength is definitely to shoot the basketball, and she just feels more comfortable there," Curry said of Christian, Tech's leading 3-point shooter this season. "Tiny, experience-wise and mentally understanding what we want, looks like our next option right now with the way practices have been going. She's just heady, and she understands what we want.

"It's not a negative on Raquel at all. It's just where she feels more comfortable, and it's obvious. We're not going to be hard-headed and stubborn and try to make her something that she's not."